Homophobic Stigmatization vs True Homophobia

pointing

The previous post clearly involved a true case of homophobia and a general response on how to overcome it. In response on our Facebook page, Melissa said: Most who call homosexuality a sin or stand up against the gay agenda are called homophobic! There are many complex agendas and some powerful ones coalesce into pro-gay cultural momentum across the board in all sectors of society.  When people minimize the complexity of that reality (minimizing it to simply, "The Gay Agenda"), we set ourselves up to be easily stigmatized with false labels.  Maybe if we put down our pointing fingers/verbal … [Read more...]

Avoiding Pitfalls During The Holidays – Real Answers by Angela Buchanan

ornament

This article appears in both our offline and online newsletters.  To receive articles like this along with the full newsletter online via email or offline through the postal service please sign up here. --- The holiday season is a particularly challenging time for me.  How can I prepare myself to avoid pitfalls that can easily sabotage my joy and peace? First of all, set realistic expectations. Christmas is a wonderful season, but sometimes we expect so much we can’t help but feel depressed and disappointed when it is over.  The anticipation builds for months and then it … [Read more...]

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 2

My Wedding Day

Yesterday, I shared the first half of my story.  This is the second half. I had just become a Christian.  In one sense, I felt hope, but at the same time, the labels were still haunting me.  Even though at the time I could not voice what was going on, I continued to spiral out of control with my eating and relationships. I was so desperate for love that I entered into a relationship with an 18 year old woman with a drug problem (I was 24 at the time). After 3 months, this woman (having been raised in a Christian home) said to me, “Listen – the Bible says you must either be hot or … [Read more...]

What’s in a Name? The Story of Brenna Kate Simonds – Part 1

Brenna with a mohawk from having her head shaved

A Christian speaker recently reminded me that words are a container for power. The book of Proverbs says “reckless words pierce like a sword”, “the words of the wicked lie in wait for blood”, and “when words are many, sin is not absent”.  In the Bible, words & names are very important. Throughout my life, I allowed people and circumstances to label me, name me, and define who I am. I was born prematurely in May of 1975. I was given a 50% chance of survival and rode in an ambulance to a hospital 50 miles away since the hospital where I was born did not have premie … [Read more...]

Let’s Talk About Those Gay Rats

rat

John Cloud writes in Why You're Gay: A New Study Shows Why Boy Rats Like Other Boy Rats: Despite what the Bible says, lust is inborn: our species couldn't survive if we didn't yearn to have sex with one another. But exactly how sexual desire develops is, even at this late date, poorly understood. We know more about the musculature of the left femur than we do about how our brains acquire and process the desire to engage sexually. That's why I was intrigued by a new study in the journal Psychological Science. Typically I don't care about studies of rat behavior because, after all, the … [Read more...]

Asking Questions

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My son is in that stage of asking the same question over and over again. “What his name is?” is one of his favorites.  He especially wants to know all the names of superheros, kids at the playground, and animals.  I don't even know the names of the superheros, so I've had to get creative in answering.  I just recently discovered that if I asked him the same question he's asking me, he often knows the answer and will go ahead and answer it. We see in the Bible that God often asks questions. In the garden of Eden, God asked Adam and Eve where they were hiding- as if He couldn't see … [Read more...]

Some Thoughts On Church/Denominational Conflict

pastorhands

This post was inspired by Matt Kaufman over at the Boundless Line.  He wrote, in response to the ELCA decision, a good question (emphasis mine): ... When should you leave a church on principle -- not for personal reasons (which we've talked about elsewhere on this blog), but for reasons of its doctrines or practices? And a follow-up question: Have you ever had to wrestle with this decision? That is definitely a tough question with plenty of potential variables.  In the 18 years I have been a Christian I haven't ever left a church on "principle" (when I have it has been for personal … [Read more...]

Eighteen Years and Counting

dove

This is cross-posted on the ETC Blog.  Here is an audio file (embedded at the end of this post as well.) *** Today is the day that I remember the actual moment in which I turned away from my gay worldview and began my Christian post-gay journey. This is *not* the day I became a Christian.  I was born again before I turned away from homosexuality.  The anniversary of accepting Christ as Lord and Savior is in the last week of May.  So yes, I considered myself a "gay Christian" for the whole two months between May and July of 1992. During a prayer time 18 years ago the Lord (no … [Read more...]

First Hand Report From The NEA Ex-gay Educator’s Caucus

Click Image to Visit Melinda's Facebook Profile

Melinda has become one of my favorite facebook friends.  She's always got an encouraging word.  She recently went to the NEA Convention and she had a remarkable experience.  I asked if she would like to write a guest blog post about her experience and she graciously agreed.  Here's Melinda in her own words (emphasis mine): My experience manning the NEA Ex-gay Educator’s Caucus booth at the National Education Association (NEA) convention in New Orleans recently could be compared to being in a dunking booth or being fed to the lions. The Caucus was raising awareness that “ex-gays” do, … [Read more...]

Conference Update – Leadership Arrives, Meetings Underway, Set-up On Schedule

Exodus Lanyard

Galatians 6:2 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Today is our third full day here at the Exodus Freedom Conference site in Irvine (I can traveling all day as one  :)) and everything is on schedule.  We had a little coffee crisis this morning but if that is the biggest hiccup we have ... we are doing really well! The Exodus Board of Directors and Regional Coordinators came in yesterday and last night for their respective meetings.  Today we are getting a good workout in for setting up the Bookstore. Putting the signage around campus and helping our … [Read more...]